After the 2025 season, significant changes are coming to the WNBA. The Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and Seattle Storm teams have decided to change their head coaches, opening up a range of opportunities for the 2026 season.
With the expansion of the league, which includes the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, five vacancies open up for the 2026 season next year. The competition to fill these key positions has already begun.
On October 17, the Portland Fire team announced the hiring of Alex Sarama, assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, as their new coach. On October 22, Toronto Tempo followed suit, signing Sandy Brondello, who had previously left the Liberty in September. The next day, the Dallas Wings completed their search by hiring Jose Fernandez, coming from college basketball.
Alofoke Deportes is closely following these movements and will analyze them in depth as they develop.
Dallas Wings: A New Chapter with Jose Fernandez
The Dallas Wings team, which had Chris Koclanes as coach until September 30, now welcomes Jose Fernandez. Fernandez, with a long career in college basketball, arrives with the task of revitalizing a team that has Paige Bueckers, the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2025, and a lottery pick in 2026.
Fernandez, with 25 years of experience at the University of South Florida (USF), where he achieved a record of 485-317, takes on the challenge of leading the Wings, who have had an irregular performance in the last two seasons.
The arrival of Fernandez marks the sixth coach the Wings have had since 2018. The team hopes that Fernandez can replicate the success that Karl Smesko had with the Atlanta Dream, leading them to a 30-14 record.
Koclanes was fired after a season with Dallas, where the team had a 10-34 record. Lack of time and injuries to key players impacted the team’s performance.
The Wings, who started in Detroit in 1998 and won three championships, have had a variable performance since their move to Tulsa and then to Dallas. The challenge for Fernandez will be to achieve consistency and long-term success.A month after leaving the New York Liberty, Sandy Brondello has found her next job as the coach of the Toronto Tempo, the first international WNBA team that begins playing in 2026.
Toronto Tempo: Sandy Brondello Leads International Expansion
The Toronto Tempo, the WNBA’s first international franchise, will have Sandy Brondello as coach. The Australian coach, with two decades of experience in the league, will bring great credibility to the team that will debut in 2026.
Brondello, with two championships and a 452-271 regular season record, has been a WNBA head coach for 13 seasons and an assistant for eight. Her knowledge of the league and international basketball will be fundamental to building the Tempo’s roster.
After her time with the Phoenix Mercury, where she won a title in 2014, and then with the New York Liberty, where she led the team to the WNBA Finals in 2023 and the championship in 2024, Brondello arrives in Toronto with the mission of establishing the Tempo as Canada’s team.
Portland Fire: Alex Sarama and an Innovative Approach
Alex Sarama, coming from the coaching staff of the Cleveland Cavaliers, will take over as the coach of the Portland Fire. Sarama is an expert in the “Constraints-Led Approach” (CLA), a training system that has gained popularity in European basketball and in the NBA, especially with Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
CLA emphasizes adaptability, improvisation, and decision-making, rather than predetermined movement patterns. Sarama plans to use games with constraints to force players to make decisions under pressure.
New York Liberty: A Change of Course
Sandy Brondello left the position of coach of the New York Liberty on September 23. Despite having led the team to its first WNBA championship in 2024, management decided not to renew her contract.
The general manager, Jonathan Kolb, explained that the decision was based on the need for “evolution and innovation” for the future of the franchise. Brondello, with a record of 107-53 in four seasons, was the most successful coach in Liberty history.
Seattle Storm: Noelle Quinn and a New Beginning
Noelle Quinn left the position of coach of the Seattle Storm on September 21. Quinn, who took over the position in 2021, had a regular season record of 97-89 and 4-8 in playoffs.
Quinn’s departure comes after a series of events, including Jewell Loyd’s request that she be fired, following the team’s elimination in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.
The main challenge for Quinn’s successor will be to improve the team’s offense on the court.
